5. Hybrid Open Access

What is the Hybrid route?

The Hybrid route refers to the immediate Open Access publication of an article within a subscription journal. In this model, some articles are made freely accessible upon payment of Article Processing Charges (APC), while the rest remain available only to subscribers.

Please note that some hybrid journals offer to publish articles as Gold Open Access. This is a misuse of terminology on their part. Articles in hybrid journals are in Open Access, while the Gold route is a separate mode of publication.

Do all publishers of hybrid journals require payment of Article Processing Charges (APC)?

To publish in Open Access in subscription journals, payment of publication fees (APC) is generally required. However, some publishers — such as Annual Reviews — offer alternative models. Under the "Subscribe to Open" model, content is made freely accessible when a sufficient number of libraries maintain their journal subscription. In that case, no publication fee is charged to authors.

Special "Read & Publish" agreements have been concluded with publishers, allowing articles to be published in Open Access with no fees, or at a discount, in certain hybrid journals. The list of agreements can be found on the "Open Access Institutional Agreements" page.

There is no institutional agreement with the publisher of the journal in which I wish to publish. How can I still comply with Open Access mandates?

It is possible to publish in a closed format (copyright assigned to the publisher) and follow the Green route if no funding is available for Open Access publication in a hybrid journal.